W' signatures with odd Higgs particles

We point out that W' bosons may decay predominantly into Higgs particles associated with their broken gauge symmetry. We demonstrate this in a renormalizable model where the W' and W couplings to fermions differ only by an overall normalization. This "meta-sequential" W' boson decays into a scalar pair, with the charged one subsequently decaying into a W boson and a neutral scalar. These scalars are odd under a parity of the Higgs sector, which consists of a complex bidoublet and a doublet. The W' and Z' bosons have the same mass and branching fractions into scalars, and may show up at the LHC in final states involving one or two electroweak bosons and missing transverse energy.Comment: 24 page

Assessing the feasibility of small hydropower in Northern California

Small hydropower is an underutilized form of clean energy generation. In order for any potential for small hydropower to be developed or utilized, the amount of potential power needs to be estimated accurately. A number of studies have been conducted, though none of these studies have taken local climate into account, which affects the accuracy of their results. A number of places in Northern California have potential that has not yet been utilized, but a more accurate assessment of that potential is called for. Although studies can be conducted through a number of different methodologies, most use GIS technology to analyze the data. Laying out the exact methodology allows for the results to be verified, and for additional, refining studies to be conducted. The important piece of the methodology is the equation that is used to determine the potential power at any point. The methodology established here shows that there is unutilized small hydropower potential in the Northern California region. Comparison with the results of previous studies leads to surprising results, as the results of these studies vary in unexpected ways. A simple comparison of input data, rather than the final results of the studies, shows ways in which these previous studies are inaccurate. Starting with measured data, not unexplained models, makes this study more accurate than the previous studies. Also, presenting the process in a way that is transparent with results that are more accessible and understandable should allow for replication and make the findings available to the general public

Process Evaluation of a Community Asset Mapping Protocol for Diabetes Prevention and Management

Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are highly prevalent conditions with new diagnoses occurring each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a). Type 2 DM negatively impacts many aspects of life, to include social, financial, cultural, and everyday living. Asset mapping is a useful tool to build upon existing resources to help community members identify and expand services based on understanding the interconnected systems that influence type 2 DM prevention, screening, education, and care management. An Asset Mapping Protocol was created and piloted through a rural community coalition in Nebraska. The protocol includes an activity for community stakeholders to identify and discuss assets for diabetes prevention, screening, and care management and why they are valuable to their community. A process evaluation was completed to assess the usefulness and effectiveness of the activity. A mixed-methods assessment was completed by participants with a follow up qualitative interview. A fidelity checklist was also completed based on a recording of the coalition members completing the activity. While limited participation in the follow-up assessments provided few results, the data provided insight into protocol adjustment and future direction. Recommendations include clarifying the activity instructions, providing greater details between coalition meetings, incorporating additional interview feedback focusing on minority community resources, and strengthening community health needs assessments. Additional research in rural communities that addresses the reduction in rates of type 2 DM is necessary

Integrating Standards and 21st Century Skills to Increase Engagement

The research question addressed in this project was, how can I create curriculum using the principals of project based learning and the Language Arts Common Core State Standards in a fourth grade social studies setting that may increase student engagement? The purpose of this capstone was to create a curriculum that integrates the Language Arts Common Core State Standards and Minnesota Social Studies Standards with project based learning so that students are actively participating in their learning to strengthen life-long and critical thinking skills. The capstone provides an explanation of how project based learning integrates 21st century skills and Common Core Standards in order to increase student engagement. The author documents the process of using backwards design in order to create a project based social studies curriculum for a fourth grade classroom. She explains the challenges of creating an integrated project based curriculum, and concluded that: in order to have a quality project based learning program, there needs to be 1) teams of teachers that work well together in order to support each other and plan quality units, or 2) a whole school or district initiative to support project based learning through professional development

Use of Craigslist.org to Hook Up: Age Differences in Sex Requests, HIV Disclosure and Negotiated Safety among Men-Seeking-Men

Data from 984 “men-seeking-men” Craigslist.org postings in five cities were analyzed to assess differences in sexual requests, HIV status disclosure, and negotiated safety between young (18-24 years) and older (25 years and older) men who have sex with men (MSM). Young MSM were less likely than older MSM to post their HIV status or the preferred status of a partner (p=0.04), disclose and/or request a partner who was disease and drug free (p=.01), and request use of a condom in their posting (p=0.01). Interventions aimed at changing the culture and content of postings on Craigslist.org by encouraging HIV status disclosure and condom use preference are warranted, particularly for young MSM

LHC and dark matter signals of Z' bosons

We customize the simulation code FEWZ (Fully Exclusive W, Z Production) to study Z' production at the LHC for both \sqrt{s}=8 TeV and 14 TeV. Using the results of our simulation for several standard benchmark Z' models, we derive a semi-empirical expression for the differential cross section, that permits the determination of Z' couplings in a model-independent manner. We evaluate cross sections and other observables for large classes of models, including the common E_6, left-right and B-L models, as a function of model parameters. We also consider a hidden sector Z' that couples to standard model fermions via kinetic and mass mixing and serves as a mediator of isospin-violating interactions with dark matter. We combine the results of LHC Z' searches and dark matter direct detection experiments with global electroweak data to obtain mass-dependent constraints on the model parameters.Comment: 30 pages, 19 figures, 2 tables. Published versio

Crashing the IR Party: Artists as Scholars in Institutional Repositories

Andrea Schuler, Digital Collections Librarian and Ashley Peterson, fine arts Research & Instruction Librarian began working together in July 2016 on an initiative to include visual art thesis projects in the Tufts University institutional repository. This project, now in its third year, has resulted in the addition of dozens of visual arts theses into the repository, where they are available alongside senior honors theses from across disciplines in the Schools of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. In this presentation, Schuler & Peterson will outline their initial research into best practices and case studies regarding artwork-as-scholarship in IRs, describe their pilot project, and summarize subsequent improvements and future directions. They will focus on the affective labor of this initiative, describing how they attempt to foster student engagement, achieve faculty buy-in, and navigate a project with multiple, cross-departmental institutional stakeholders. They will also speak to the technical challenges of representing artwork in a platform designed for text files. More broadly, the presentation will highlight opportunities to engage undergraduate students in the larger scholarly conversation and to introduce concepts of open access, copyright, and licensing in a real-world situation. The project offers a low-resource model for creating access to new types of material and empowers student artists to contextualize their work within the larger body of an institution’s scholarly output, while working within the limits of a repository designed for more “traditional” scholarship. After the presentation, in addition to questions, audience members will be encouraged to share examples of related work or unmet needs at their own institutions in order to broaden the conversation